Loved ones with health or mental challenges, having family pass away and also dealing with a beloved pet that dies can be traumatizing to children. I have collected some outstanding books that can help kids of all ages deal with these situations as well as open conversations. All are picture books, unless otherwise indicated.
Night Walk, by Jason Cockcroft, is a most tender story about a young boy following his grandfather in the predawn hours to find grandmother’s favorite spot on a walk. Could it be by the swirling stream where you can hear the ribbits of frogs or on the beach where you see two whales and their blowholes in the dark air? When they finally come to his grandmother’s favorite spot on the final page, you will perfectly understand why. It is evident that both grandfather and young boy are finding this way to cope with the loss of this special person in their life. The glorious illustrations that fill the open-page were made with mixed media.
Always Sisters: A Story of Loss and Love, by Saira Mir and beautifully illustrated using chalk pastel and watercolor by Shahrzad Maydani, is a book that tells of the loss of an unborn child. The way this affects youngsters as they anticipate the arrival of their newest sibling can be very confusint. This book opens a conversation for all family members to better deal with this type of loss. The swirls of soft brushstrokes reflect the imagery of life and that this loss won’t be forgotten. Every family member plants a tree in sacred memory of what was lost.
Drawn Onward, by Daniel Nayeri and wonderfully illustrated using mixed media and painted digitally by Matt Rockefeller, reads like a palindrome as a young boy navigates through a forest rich with fantasy and adventures as he deals with the loss of his mother. There are few words but panels of pictures as you go through the depths of his grief. Ultimately, he and his father find comfort that his mother will always be with them.
My Grief Comfort Book: Creative Activities to Help Kids Cope with Loss and Keep Memories Alive, by Brie Overton and perfectly illustrated with many pages to create and cut out by Jesse White, is a paperback book rich with activities, projects and comfort type stationary to help kids deal with loss. This book will help them as they go through stages of grief and help them cope. Some of these activities include finger paint to demonstrate feelings, making a memory quilt and painting memory stones.
The Dreams We Made, by Lisa Bentley, is a touching story about a young girl and her father working with scissors, glue and paper each night building something. When he would go to work the next day, she would ask to go with him. But he would reply that they could continue building, when he returned in the evening. Except one night, he doesn’t return. Her mother helps her deal with this pain and loss and over time, the girl finds ways to keep him with her as she builds her dreams once again. The beautiful open-page illustrations of hues of blues and yellows were done digitally. Be sure to check out the end-pages.
Cloud Babies: Sometimes All You Need to Do Is Look Up, by Eoin Colfer and brightly illustrated digitally by Chris Judge, is about young Erin who enjoyed looking up at the clouds with her mom and dad and finding different shapes of animals and calling them Cloud Babies. But when she becomes very ill and must spend a long duration in the hospital, she continues searching for her cloud animals. She is finally released from the hospital, but finds it difficult to return to the routine of school and her classmates. This story is perfect for those who experience this or know of others coming back to school after experiencing this situation.
The Hole, by Lindsay Bonilla and gorgeously illustrated using watercolor washes, colored pencils, and paper collage and then assembled digitally by Brizida Magro, is a poignant story that begins with sadness and ends with love and memories. A young boy misses his little brother terribly and feels like there’s a black hole everywhere his brother would be. It follows him to school and never seems to leave him. When a girl asks him if he’d like to talk about his brother, he does and then seems to fall right into that hole. But the good memories pull him out and help him cope with this tremendous loss through these wonderful memories. You will discover why there are elephants on the end-pages.
Remembering, by Xelena Gonzalez and marvelously painted with acrylic by Adriana M. Garcia, is a wonderful book to help youngsters and family members when they lose their beloved pet. This sparely written text, told from a young girl’s point of view, with the most glorious illustrations that fill every page showcase her grief due to the loss of her dog. She fixes his dish of food and water bowl and places it in his regular spot as she remembers him. She goes on their walk on a favorite path in honor of him and does many other things along side of her family. Here is a book to share with a family member as they grieve over an animal never to be forgotten!
Dear Mr. G, by Christine Evans and beautifully painted by Gracey Zhang, begins the story on the title page where you see a brightly colored neighborhood. You see a young boy, Jackson, kicking a ball in his yard and a gentleman sitting on his porch. The rest of the book is told and shown through brief written letters between this older man, Mr. G, and Jackson. The tenderness that begins with the encounter of the two is sweet as you begin to understand Mr. G is becoming frail and eventually passes. But the letters show the deep friendship and love between these two.
All the Blues in the Sky, by Renee Watson, is a novel book geared for kids ages ten and above. The book is written in verse and vignettes as you grow to know and bond with the protagonist, Sage. She just turned thirteen when she learns that her best friend passed. You begin to understand how Sage is finally able to handle this grief as the loss is hard some days and other days it’s much easier. The writing is eloquent but not overly done. The pain and guilt are mixed with joy and empathy making this one of the best books for kids this age on death.
